Amateur photographer lost £10,000 because he 'forgot to read the rules'

The winning photograph of Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland taken by David Byrne, from Cannock, Staffordshire

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An amateur photographer stripped of a prestigious award and £10,000 prize money for digitally altering his winning picture claims he forgot to read the contest small print.

David Byrne, 43, scooped the Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year award last month with a stunning image of Lindisfarne Castle.

But the printing boss has now been disqualified after digital manipulations to the photo came to light, sparking internet abuse from some “purists”.

Yesterday the dad-of-two, from Cannock, Staffordshire, claimed the changes were only minor – but admitted he had failed to read the terms and conditions.

“I did put some clouds into the picture because the sky was a bit boring and painted out a few minor details,’’ said David.

“What I didn’t do was read the terms and conditions and didn’t realise you couldn’t edit photographs in this competition. There have been some people hounding me on the internet since they found out I’d won.

“At first they said it was plagiarised then they just started picking faults.

David said in many competitions it was expected the entrants would ‘touch up’ shots to tidy up the photograph and said photographers had been doing the same thing for a hundred years.

“It used to be done in the dark room, now it’s done on a computer,’’ he claimed.

“I’ve been open about what I do and have never hidden anything, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”

David Byrne, who was stripped of the Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year award

Despite losing his title and £10,000 winnings David insisted: “I’m proud of the photo, I love that picture and I’ll stand by that picture until the day I die.

“I can’t blame Take a View, but the hounding I got was unjustifiable, although I also got emails from people saying they liked the photo.’’

Charlie Waite, founder of the competition after the disqualification said Simon Buttwerworth was named the winner with his shot of Port Glasgow.

He said: “This is extremely regrettable and it appears there was no deliberate intention to deceive the judges but the level of manipulation means this photograph gained an unfair advantage in this category and winning the overall competition.”